Levine Takes Title in Discus at Heptagonals

Marty Evans. (photo by Sam Rubin '95, Yale Sports Publicity)

May 08, 2011

Bulldogs Place Fifth Overall

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Day two of Ivy League Heptagonals Championships did not disappoint as the Bulldogs brought out their best performances, highlighted by sophomore Mike Levine's win in the discus. Four other individuals, as well as all three relay teams, scored. The Bulldogs placed fifth with 44 points. Princeton won the meet with 197 points, breaking Cornell's eight-year long streak.

"We took advantage of the successes we had during the day and maximized our points in the events we had to score," said head coach Marc Davis.

After scoring in the hammer throw on Saturday, Levine followed up in the discus with his first Heptagonals championship. Levine posted an impressive mark of 52.26m in his first attempt that no other competitor surpassed before sealing the win with a season best of 54.28m in his last throw.

"This is the biggest team meet of the year, so to win it, it was great to have 10 points for the team," Levine said. "The last week and a half, I was having pretty big throws in practices, so it was only a matter of time. Today was a good day to do it."

Senior captain Marty Evans capped off his collegiate career with two bronze medals in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. Evans clocked in 10.75 in the 100-meter dash, going up two spots from preliminaries, and followed through in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.50 after having to wait out two false starts.

Senior John Van Deventer also won the bronze in a slow, but close, race in the 1,500-meter run. Van Deventer took an early lead, stayed in the front pack until the pace finally picked up in the third lap and held on for third in 3:58.16. It was a memorable finish for Van Deventer's last year with the Bulldogs, who came back to compete this season after battling injuries for the past three years.

The Bulldogs also scored twice in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with junior Nathan Richards in third place (8:56.64) and senior Matt Bogdan in fifth (9:16.85). As the field spread out, Richards shuffled between second and third in the first pack of three runners, while Bogdan led the second group throughout the course of the race, both hanging on to score at Heptagonals for the second consecutive year.

In the 5,000-meter run, sophomore Demetri Goutos finished first for the Bulldogs in 14:59.35, only two seconds off his season best, followed by freshman Ryan Laemel in 15:04.11.

In the relays, the Bulldogs scored in all three races with season bests. The team of senior Nathan Molina, Evans, senior Chris Stanley and junior Matthew Bieszard clocked in 41.66 for a fifth-place finish in the 4x100-meter relay. In the 4x800-meter relay, the squad of junior Charlie Jaeger, junior Conor Dooney, junior Julian Sheinbaum and freshman James Shirvell took sixth to get on the podium in 7:35.66, which also qualifies them for IC4As. The same group that ran the 4x100-meter relay came back to run a bold race in the 4x400-meter relay, Evans taking the lead from the first leg and the team staying on for fourth place in 3:15.16.

"Our guys really came together on day two – both on and off the track, our team morale was solid. As for me, I'm glad I ran my best lap my last time around that track," Evans said.

The Bulldogs' next competition is the IC4A Championships at Princeton on May 13-15, featuring athletes who have met the IC4A qualifying standards.